Boat construction



March 31, 1964 J. H. STEVENS 3,126,557

BOAT CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 5, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 n I {I III INVENTOR 1/1/11 HM p' JOHN H. STEVENS l2" l8" l2 l8 /|2' I8 FIG 8 54 BY Q Q,

ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofiice 3,126,557 BOAT CONSTRUCTIGN John H. Stevens, 7518 Locust Ave.,. Gary, Ind. Filed Sept. 5, 1961, Ser. No. 135,839 4 Claims. (Cl. 9-6) My invention relates generally to boat building and more particularly to boat hulls formed of corrugated board sections and resin impregnated fabric.

My invention provides for an arrangement of hull sections stamped in corrugated sheets and separable therefrom for joining together, shaped, sealed and fitted in the manner particularly set forth in detail hereinbelow, to form a hull structure which is light in weight, easy and economical to manufacture and simple to maintain.

A further object of my invention is to provide a hull structure which is very strong for its weight.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a hull structure which may be constructed with no special tools, molds or equipment not ordinarily possessed by the ordinary householder.

Another important advantage of my invention results from the fact that boat hulls of different designs may easily be obtained by providing hull sections stamped in different shapes.

These and other objects of my invention will appear from a study of the following detailed description and drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan elevation of a boat constructed according to the principles of my invention,

FIGURE 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view taken along line 22 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 5 is a transverse sectional view of the hull taken along line 5-5 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 6 is a plan elevation of a sheet of corrugated cardboard showing some of the hull sections stamped therein,

FIGURE 7 is a plan elevation of another sheet of corrugated cardboard showing more hull sections stamped therein, and

FIGURE 8 is a sectional View of a fragmentary portion of a constructed hull section particularly showing the ridges of the several corrugated members angularly displaced with respect to one another.

Referring now to the drawings, the material of my invention comprises a plurality of corrugated cardboard sheets designated generally by the numeral 10 and which have stamped or cut therein for ready manual separation therefrom hull sections and parts of hull sections designated generally by numerals 12 and 14 respectively. The corrugated cardboard sheets 10 are preferably impregnated with waterproofing compound. The hull sections 12 are compactly and unsymmetrically arranged in the corrugated cardboard sheets 10 so that a maximum number of hull sections 12 are obtained from each sheet 10. To obtain an even greater number of hull sections from each sheet 10, I prefer to provide, in spaces such as at 16 on each sheet 10 which are not sufliciently expansive to accommodate integral hull sections 12, hull section parts 14 14 14 14, which are joined to form hull sections 18 18 18 18, at a ratio of approximately four divided hull sections 13 to each integral hull section 12. The unsymmetrical arrangement of hull sections 12 12 12 12, and hull section parts 14 14 14 14 in corrugated cardboard sheets 10, will provide an exceedingly strong structure when said hull sections 12 and 18 are adjacently posited 3,126,557 Patented Mar. 31, 1964 and bonded or glued together to form the hull 20 of boat 22. This results from that fact that the parallel furrows and ridges of the corrugated members 24 of adjacent hull sections 12 and hull sections parts 14 which comprise hull sections 18, are angularly displaced with respect to one another thereby providing a stress resisting area in hull 20 at each angular displacement thereof. Each hull section 12 and the hull section parts 14 which comprise each hull section 18 are shaped so that when adjacently posited in consecutive series and bonded in place, the longitudinal and lateral contour of boat hull 241 is formed.

By way of example, to illustrate a specific arrangement, I bond or glue approximately four sets of hull section parts 14, each set thereof forming a hull section 18, between integral hull sections 12. The hull section parts 14 may be arranged on each sheet 11 so that when the hull section parts 14 are placed in position forming hull sections 18, the parallel furrows and ridges of the corrugated panel member 24 of the hull section parts 14 are normal or approximately normal to the surface of the boat hull 20. This specific arrangement will provide a very strong hull from the standpoint of crush resistance. It should be understood of course that various arrangements may be planned both in number, position and angular displacements of the corrugated member 24 of the hull section parts 14 forming hull sections 18 and hull sections 12.

In providing hull sections 12 12 12 12, and hull section parts 14 14 14 14, to construct the hull 21 of boat 22, I provide hull sections 12 and hull section parts 14 with notches 26 centrally of the bottom edge of said hull sections and parts thereof for receiving keel member 28. Certain of the hull sections 12 and 18, particularly the hull sections 12 and 18 which comprise the stern portion of boat 22, are provided with notches 30 bilaterally arranged in the bottom edges of said hull sections for receiving reinforcing ribs 32. Several of the hull sections 12 and 18, particularly the hull sections which comprise the seating section of the boat 22-, are shaped with ledges 33 which project inwardly from the sides thereof on which are bonded rectangular wood block members 34 and to which a seat board 36 may be secured. If desired, in place of a seat board 36, or in addition thereto, a seat platform 42 may be provided by shaping several of the hull sections 12 and 18 with a raised upper edge 40 so that when said hull sections 12 and 18 are united together in the hull 20, a seating platform 42 is provided as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. Platform 44 is similarly provided by shaping several of the hull sections 12 and 18 particularly the hull sections designated for the bow portion of the hull, with a raised upper edge 45. Though I do not show a deck, it is apparent from the forgoing that deck sections may be shaped for uniting together to provide a deck which extends between the sides of the hull 20. Several of the hull sections 12 and 18, particularly said hull sections which form the central portion of the boat 22, are shaped with short sides 48. Said hull sections 12 and 18 having short sides 48 are united together and sandwiched between the hull sections 12 with longer sides so that combined therewith, notches Sll are provided in the sides of hull 20. Said notches 51 are provided for receiving wood blocks 52 therein. Said blocks 52 are glued or bonded in said notches 50 and are provided with holes 54 to receive therein oar pins.

In accordance with the principles of my invention, I provide a plurality of cardboard sheets 10 having stamped therein a plurality of hull sections 12 12 12 12", and hull section parts 14 14 14 14, of varied shapes and which are best designated with symbols to indicate the order of consecutive placement when uniting said hull sections 12 and parts 14 to construct hull 20 of boat 22. The hull sections 12 12 12 12, and parts 14 14 14 14", are manually separable from sheets in which they are stamped and glued or bonded together face to face in the consecutive order designated by the symbols differentiating the hull sections 12 and parts 14 of hull sections 18 to form the hull 20. Keel member 28 and reinforcing ribs 32 are inserted and glued in aligned notches 26 and notches 30 respectively of bull sections 12 and 18. I also secure to ledges 33, rectangular wood block members 34 to which I secure seat board 36. I further secure oar pin blocks 52 in notches 50 provided in the hull sides. I then work the exterior and interior surface of hull 20 with a shaving or an abrasive tool to obtain a smooth contour after which I cover the entire hull structure 20, including the kneel member 28, reinforcing members 32 and block members 34 and 52, with a plastic skin 54. I prefer to form this plastic skin 54 by applying to the hull structure 20 a coat of any of the waterproof plastic resins such as polyester or epoxy compounds. I then apply to the resin coated hull surface, a layer of matting which I saturate with said plastic resin compound and to which I apply with a layer of fiberglass fibers or cloth. The fiberglass layer is covered with several applications of plastic resin. If desired, additional layers of fiberglass material and plastic resin may be applied to build up the protective skin 54. To provide the boat 22 with a finished appearance, I bond to the top edge of the hull 20 a plastic railing 56.

Any section of the hull 20 which may be subject to severe stress such as by supporting an outboard motor on the stern portion may be substituted with a wood section 58.

It should be understood that the novel means of providing hull sections and the boat constructed therefrom as shown and described herein are intended to exemplify the principles of my invention and that various modifications and arrangements of its component parts may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A boat hull comprising a plurality of corrugated cardboard hull sections, each of said corrugated cardboard hull sections comprising at least one planar panel member bonded to at least one corrugated panel member having parallel ridges and furrows, all of said hull sections being consecutively bonded together in contiguous face-to-face alignment forming the longitudinal contour of said boat hull, the shape of each of said hull sections being a transverse section of said boat hull, the parallel ridges and furrows of the corrugated panel member of each hull section being angularly displaced with respect to the parallel ridges and furrows of the corrugated panel member of an adjacent hull section, the collective edges of said consecutively and contiguously bonded hull sections forming the exterior and interior surfaces of said boat hull, and a water-seal covering adhering to said collective edges of said hull sections.

2. The boat hull of claim 1 wherein said hull sections include hull sections divided in segments and integral hull sections, said parallel ridges and furrows of the corrugated panel member of each of said hull section segments in each of said divided hull sections being angularly displaced with respect to one another, and said divided hull sections being sandwiched between said integral hull sections.

3. The boat hull of claim 2 wherein the number of hull sections divided in segments compared to the number of integral hull sections between which said divided hull sections are sandwiched, bears an approximate ratio of four to one,

4. A method of making a boat hull which comprises the steps of; providing a plurality of hull sections, each thereof corresponding to a cross section of said boat hull; bonding all of said hull sections consecutively together in contiguous face-to-face alignment in a hull contour forming sequence so that the collective edges of said consecutively and conti uously bonded hull sections form the exterior and interior surfaces of said boat, applying layers of plastic compound solution and a fibrous mating to the collective edges of said hull sections; and allowing said plastic compound to dry to form a water impervious covering to said boat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,758,399 Hodgdon May 13, 1930 2,156,635 Mascuch May 2, 1939 2,392,834 Clement Jan. 15, 1946 2,813,050 I-Iickson Nov. 12, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 753,204 France Mar. 28, 1933 894,498 France Mar. 13, 1944 781,162 Great Britain Aug. 14, 1957 OTHER REFERENCES Popular Science, p. 128, February 1960. The Motor Ship, page 6, August 1949. The British Motor Ship, page 82, April 1951. 

1. A BOAT HULL COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF CORRUGATED CARDBOARD HULL SECTIONS, EACH OF SAID CORRUGATED CARDBOARD HULL SECTIONS COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE PLANAR PANEL MEMBER BONDED TO AT LEAST ONE CORRUGATED PANEL MEMBER HAVING PARALLEL RIDGES AND FURROWS, ALL OF SAID HULL SECTIONS BEING CONSECUTIVELY BONDED TOGETHER IN CONTIGUOUS FACE-TO-FACE ALIGNMENT FORMING THE LONGITUDINAL CONTOUR OF SAID BOAT HULL, THE SHAPE OF EACH OF SAID HULL SECTIONS BEING A TRANSVERSE SECTION OF SAID BOAT HULL, THE PARALLEL RIDGES AND FURROWS OF THE CORRUGATED PANEL MEMBER OF EACH HULL SECTION BEING ANGULARLY DISPLACED WITH RESPECT TO THE PARALLEL RIDGES AND FURROWS OF THE CORRUGATED PANEL MEMBER OF AN ADJACENT HULL SECTION, THE COLLECTIVE EDGES OF SAID CONSECUTIVELY AND CONTIGUOUSLY BONDED HULL SECTIONS FORMING THE EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR SURFACES OF SAID BOAT HULL, AND A WATER-SEAL COVERING ADHERING TO SAID COLLECTIVE EDGES OF SAID HULL SECTIONS. 